The Governments of Spain and Algeria have expressed their desire to cooperate in combating terrorism and to reach a peaceful and negotiated solution to the Libyan crisis that will lead to the stability of Arab countries. The two governments held their sixth high-level bilateral Spanish-Algerian summit, chaired by the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmalek Sellal, which was attended by the foreign, health, agriculture and development ministers of both countries. At the press conference after the meeting, both sides stressed the need to combat terrorism, which, they said, represents a threat to all countries, whether Western or Muslim. Sellal said that the two governments share the same conviction about the need to find a solution to the problem, pointing out that Algeria suffered during the nineteen nineties from the scourge of terrorism, "But we were facing it alone." Rajoy stressed that there is good cooperation with Algeria on the matter, and said that it is not just about cooperation between the security or intelligence forces, but it is to help avoid the "failing of states" in the hands of extremists, in reference to Libya, where the terrorist organisation Daesh is taking control. Sellal acknowledged the existence of common denominators concerning the situation in Libya, pointing out that the solution there "should only be negotiated peacefully without armed intervention." For this reason, the Algerian Prime Minister defended the formation of a national unity government in Libya, and a transition process for the peace of the country, and the holding of democratic elections under the supervision of the United Nations. The meeting saw the signing of several cooperation agreements in areas such as technological cooperation, education, fishing and agriculture. Sellal welcomed the economic trade with Spain, which has reached US$15 billion, and called for its increase. He said that the energy field is one of the most prominent areas of cooperation between the two countries, as Algeria is one of the major producers of natural gas in the world. The Algerian Prime Minister said that his country has large reserves of gas and phosphate, while Spain has the technology needed, alluding to the importance of the participation of the public and private sectors so that everyone benefits. 300 Spanish businessmen participated yesterday in a forum with members of the Algerian government to promote cooperation between the two countries, according to Sellal, who this morning met with Spain's King Philip VI, where discussions touched on the prospects of increased bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the political and economic fields before the start of the summit. The previous summit saw the two sides discussing the possibility of extending the Medgaz gas pipeline, which connects the cities of Beni Saf on the Algerian coast and Almeria, Spain. Sellal also met with the Spanish Industry Minister, Jose Manuel Soria, last April, and agreed with him on the need to improve energy interconnection projects so that Spain becomes a gateway to Europe for supplying Algerian gas.
